Raising sunken or stranded vessels



(No Model.)

A. P. EELLS.

RAISING -SUNKBN' 0R STRANDED VBSSBLS'. No. 372,210. y PatentedV Oct. Z5,1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT rares,

RAlslNe SUNKEN on sTRANDso vEssELs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,210, dated Octobei25, 1887.

Application tiled April 7. 1887. Serial No. 234,039.

To @ZZ whom, 'it' may con/cern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F; EsLLs, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful ImprovementinRaising Sunken and Light ening Stranded Vessels;Y and I dohereby'declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same.

My invention relates to the raising of su nken and the lightening ofstranded vessels. tofore for this purpose it has been proposed toprovide caissons for the bow and stern of vessels, conneeted together atthe sides by ropes running fore and aft, the said caissons having theirinner faces conforming to the longitudinal lines of the vessel; but asthe caissons were approximately square a very small 'bearingsurface wasoffered to the sides of the vessel, and but comparatively littlefloating or lifting surface was presented for the lifting action of thewater, a large amount of loatage being necessary at all times, andabsolutely so when lightening a vessel/stranded in shallow Water.Anoth'erformbf/caisson,which is open to the same objection, ofpresenting but comparatively little oatage properties, consists of acaisson conforming to the longitudinal and transverse lines of avessehwith its outer sides curving in substantially the same manner, sothat the good effect of the inward curvature ,beneath the hull is lostby the curve of the outer wall of the caisson in the same direction,ythus lcssening in a marked degree the oatage properties of the caisson,especially in shallow water. The caisson thus arranged forms a deepnarrow com'part1nent,with very little lifting` Power.

Itis the object of myinvention to provide a caisson which, whileconforming to both the longitudinal and transverse lines of the vessel,will be of such configuration as to practically inclose the entireforward and rear parts of the vessel (and a portion' of the sides wherethe vessel is of great length) and extend to the front and rear, thusproviding ample floatage to liftthe largest'vessels, whether in deep orshallow water. t

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a plan view of the hull andthe caissons in place about the hull. Fig 2 represents a side elevationof the same. Fig. 3 is an end Here- (No model.)

view of the same. Fig. 4t shows the connectionV between the sidecaissons.

In the drawings, A A are the aft and B G the fore caissons. They aremade preferably of stout boiler-iron, and are suitably braced and builtto resist the strain which may be put upon them in lifting the hulls ofvessels from deep water. Thesecaissons are built in'four parts, asrepresented in the drawings, and their interior contour, or curve of thesurface next to the hull,is made so as to t any size or shape of hullwithin reasonable limits. To this end I make the curve-as, for example,a b--of a radius a little less than that of the curve of thesmallesthull to which the caisson would be applied, so that under mostcircumstances, if not all, the bearing of the caissons against the hullwould 'be approximately at the pointsa b. The surface ofthe caissonsnext to the hull corresponds approximately in shape tothe vertical curveof the hull, as well as to the horizontal curve-that is, the lower partof the caisson extends underneath the hull, as

shown in dotted lines c d, c e, and the lines f and g. As shown, they'are made of such con` guration as to almost inclose the bow and stern,their outer sides being vertical, their bottoms at, and said outer sidesbeing parallel with the vertical plane of the keel and extending to apoint forward of the stem and aft of the stern-post, respectively, sothat the capacity of the forward caissons increases from their after totheir forward ends, and that of the after ones increases from theirforward to their after ends, by which construction greater tlotativepower is provided to compensate for the decrease of area, incross-section ot' the vessel from amidships to the 'bow and stern, andthe caissons being widest at their extreme outer ends, the greatestflotative effect is produced at those points where it is most needed.The caissons adapted to the stern ofthe Vessel I provide with a.cut-away portion to re' ceive the screw and rudder, which thus pre.vents them from being injured and permits them to be used, if it shouldbe found possible or desirable, during the lightening of the vessel. Asin the forward part of the vessel, the caissons at the stern practicallysurround this end also, being made ofthe same configuration,

IOO

with the exception of the recesses for the screw and rudder. Each pairof caissons is connected as represented at D, Fig. 4. The after pair ofcaissons is connected at the stern, as shown at the point h, and theforward pair at the point 7.5. This connection inay be of any suitableform to hold the parts together. rIhe pairs are connected to each otherby chains E, leading fore and aft alongside the hull, one pair above ioand the other below, on the liuc of the outer faces of the caissons, toprevent the outward swing of the caissons at this point, which wouldoecurif they were secured together on theline of theinnerfaces; butinstead of chains i5 rods or any suitable connecting devices may beused. Each caisson is provided, as usual, with a valve, as shown at Z,and a man-hole, m, and they are all adapted to be closed airtight. Pipesu are shown for the purpose of conducting compressed air into thecaissons after they are sunk in order to expel the water and givebuoyancy to the caissons.

In putting the apparatus into use the sections or caissons may befloated separately to z5 the position of the sunken vessel. They thenmay be llled and sunk, and after they are sunk they maybe connected withthe air-pipes and air-forcing apparatus, so as to expel the water to apoint at which the caisson will be very nearly in equilibrium or of thesaine specific gravity of the water, when it may be very easily movedinto position under the hull. After being so put into position theconnections are made at h k, and the pairs are connected together by thechains or rod. rIhe water is then expelled from the caisson by anysuitable air-forcing mechanism. Heating on the surface ofthe waterabove. The caissons, as the water is expelled,will rise and lift thevessel from its position Without liability of any injury to the hullother than slight abrasions where the parts of the caissons come incontact with the hull.

The sections may, if desired, be made in 45 colnpartments, as shown indotted lines.

For vessels of unusual length I may use caissons similar to thosedescribed on each side, intermediate between the fore and-aft caissons,suitably connected by means of chains or rods. 5o

Vhen the caissons are partially submerged, they may be pumped dry in theordinary inanner.

I claini as iny inventionl. An apparatus for raising sunken orlightening stranded vessels, consisting of caissons of the eoniigurationdescribed-namely, with their inner faces curved to correspond to thelongitudinal and transverse lines of the hull against which they bear,and their body por- 6C tions rectangular in horizontal plane incrosssection, whereby great oatage power is provided-substantially asdescribed.

2. An apparatus for raising sunken or lightening stranded vessels,consisting of caissons having their inner faces curved to correspond tothe longitudinal and transverse lines of the hull against which theybear, with their body portions rectangular in horizontal plane incross-section, with chains or the like ruiming 7o fore and aftconnecting the caissons at top and bott-oni on the line of their outerfaces, substantially as described.

3. An apparatus for raising slinken or lightening stranded vessels,consisting of caissons for the bow and stern having their inner facescurved to correspond to the longitudinal and transverse lines of thehull against which they bear, with their body portions rectangular inhorizontal plane in cross-section, the caissons 8o for the stern beingprovided with recesses, whereby they are adapted to fit around the screwand rudder without injury thereto, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification in thepresence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT F. EELLS.

Witnesses:

Giras. L. STURTEVANT, Isitnonn MIDDLETON;

